Little Red Book

Tucked away on an infrequently visited bookshelf, this little red Bible is worn around the edges and the pages are beginning to yellow. It is old. Things happen as you get older. But this isn’t about my latest visit to the doctor. Or yours, either.

This is about a little book that has a big message. If the number of Bibles one has on the shelf determines sainthood, I am now St. Roger. But among the many translations is this one, the little red one that belonged to my Mom, and it still has something to say. The first time I opened the little red book I thought to myself: this little book has Mom’s heart prints all over it. That’s particularly true when I turned to the back, inside cover. In this usually blank space after the writing has stopped, I found thirteen little strips of paper glued to the blank surface. Each strip of paper had a message in a few printed words. “The time will come when civilized man will feel that the rights of every living creature on earth are as sacred as his own.” Mom loved animals. “Animals are such agreeable friends: they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.” “Ye therefore who love mercy, teach your sons to love it, too.”

Maybe you have something that reminds you of someone special, or a special moment in your personal history. I’ve said many times that we cannot live in the past. But we can certainly learn from the past, respect and honor the past, and give thanks that Love speaks to us in so many ways, through photos, letters or notes discovered, and little Red Books.

Thank you, God, for the Word contained between the covers of this book, and thank you for the heart prints that give it life even now.